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How is reach measured?

205347 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  paulie2585
How is a boxer's reach measured? I always thought it was the distance from the shoulder to the end of the fist.

But it occurred to me several days ago that if Arturo Gatti has a reach of 70 inches, as was reported on television before his fight, then that would mean his arm would be longer than my height, 671/2".
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Reach is like wingspan with arm outstrestched to each side measure fingertip to fingertip.

On TV they talk about arm length wich is from armpit to finger tip.
Good info. Reach is probably my greatest asset as a boxer. Jab all day and all night.
ERIK said:
Reach is like wingspan with arm outstrestched to each side measure fingertip to fingertip.

On TV they talk about arm length wich is from armpit to finger tip.
Erik,
Thanks for the explanation about reach. But since one arm would be as long as the other, why measure both arms? A boxer would only be punching with one arm.
pollux said:
Erik,
Thanks for the explanation about reach. But since one arm would be as long as the other, why measure both arms? A boxer would only be punching with one arm.

I didnt decide how to do it , just was explaining how its done. LOL
I think thats why HBO etc post arm length in the Tale of the tape.

Either way it shows wich guy has the longer reach/ arms.
On all of the HBO broadcasts I watch, they measure from the armpit to the end of the fist, not the fingertips.
Captainobvious99 said:
On all of the HBO broadcasts I watch, they measure from the armpit to the end of the fist, not the fingertips.
Yeah you may be right about that.
Reach - from the armpit to the end of the fist. Some have longer arms and some have shorter. Less reach is not necessarily a disadvantage, because some men use more power with less reach.
Grace said:
Reach - from the armpit to the end of the fist. Some have longer arms and some have shorter. Less reach is not necessarily a disadvantage, because some men use more power with less reach.[/QUOTE

What you wrote is true. But when fighters' stats are shown the reach should always be just for one arm, the armpit to the fist. Some inches should be added for the glove.
Grace said:
Reach - from the armpit to the end of the fist. Some have longer arms and some have shorter. Less reach is not necessarily a disadvantage, because some men use more power with less reach.
The same goes for weightlifting as well. One with a shorter reach can do reps much quicker and with more power than somebody who has a long reach and has to struggle more for full extention.
I didn't know that reach was similar in weight lifting. It seems like that has a great affect for the one with the shorter arms.
The reason why they measure your 'wingspan' instead of measuring one single arm is simple. An 82" reach sounds more impressive than a 41" reach.
All about promotion and making yourself look good!
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